Attorneys give closing statements in Mangano-Venditto trial

Assistant U.S. Attorney Raymond Tierney spoke for hours Tuesday as he delivered closing remarks in the Mangano-Venditto federal corruption trial.

Prosecutors have argued for nine weeks that former Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano and former Oyster Bay Supervisor John Venditto had a quid pro quo arrangement with restaurateur Harendra Singh.

Tierney said Mangano and Venditto provided lucrative county contracts and loan guarantees backed by the Town of Oyster Bay in exchange for bribes and kickbacks. Those alleged bribes included free meals, expensive furniture, limo rides, vacations and a $100,000 per year no-show job for Ed Mangano’s wife, Linda.

"This case is about corruption and greed at the highest level," said Tierney. “…This is not a friendship. This is a business.”

After the lunch break, Mangano's attorney Kevin Keating began his closing statement. He told jurors the problem with the government’s case is its star witness. He said Harendra Singh probably lied 400 times during his 12 days on the stand.

“The oath matters. That man desecrated the oath. He defiled it over and over again," said Keating.

The attorney asked jurors, "How do you decide a case when the center of the case is Harendra Singh?"

Keating is expected to finish his summation Wednesday morning. The attorneys for Venditto and Linda Mangano will then give their closing statements.

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